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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · land · file · bank · bulb · straw · plane · snap

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. file — a tool
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bank — for money
  12. drill — army training
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. file — a line of people
  20. land — a country
  21. file — a document
  22. bank — for money
  23. snap — to click
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com